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WHAT THE Slump…

It’s getting warmer here. Summertime is fast approaching. I am one of the few that HATE the summertime. I don’t like being hot. My house never gets cool enough for me. The electric bill…uh, No Thank You! The only solution, more ice cream!!! More ice cream leads to weight gain. No ice cream. Sad Face. Summer is not for me.

I do however enjoy summer reading! I find the summer to be the perfect time to read a quick Chick Lit book or a fun mystery. I tend to prefer light reading in the summer. How about you? A couple Sophie Kinsella books, maybe some Laurien Berenson cozy mysteries and life is as good as it can be in the summer heat!

This year I’m struggling. I’m constantly picking up new books at the book sale and trying to fill a void that can’t seem to be filled. That isn’t to say I haven’t read great books. I have! I read Beth Revis’ Across the Universe series with my friend Jody and OMG we LOVED it! I read Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty and surprisingly loved it too! The Throne of Glass series (1-3) by Sarah J Maas, Rick Riordan’s Heroes of Olympus books (1-3), and Victoria Laurie’s amazing Ghost Hunter Mysteries are also highlighted.

So, my slump came in waves. It wasn’t immediate and it didn’t stop me from wanting to read. It just isolated me and made me feel overwhelmed.

For starters, realization that no one reads my blog posts. I’m kinda wasting my time a lil bit and that’s really disheartening. So I quit. Not the most mature approach, this I know! Yet, when you have really sh*tty internet service and you are breaking your back to create a regular schedule that almost no one even cares about…why bother?! I switched to Instagram @LetsBookAboutIt and I’m reviewing books there. I quite enjoy it. Even if I’m still a little slow to post or my pictures don’t rank at all compared to the big names, it’s still fun.

Next, I have far too many LONG LONG LONG fantasy books. Did I mention they were LONG? It feels like 75% of my TBR pile is made up of LONG fantasy books. To say I’m overwhelmed would be an understatement. I see the long books. I want to read the long books. Then I pick them up and put them back down. I can’t seem to stick with them for more than a few chapters. I think it started with the Throne of Glass series. I loved books 1 and 2. Book 3 had some challenges for me. I wanted to like it, but I didn’t. (not in the first half anyway) That book was so incredibly long. I just kept pushing and pushing my way through. I’d give up a whole day to read it and at the end felt like I didn’t make a dent. It was discouraging. That’s when the Fear Of Long Books began. Now, I’m afraid to start a long book for fear I won’t finish it or I’ll get bored. If I put it down, I may not pick it back up! It’s all in my mind, I know. That doesn’t stop me from thinking it though.

Lastly, the combative state of Twitter made me distance myself from it and thereby leaving my bookish online friends. Well, not entirely, but I feel like I’m not connecting like I used to. (and my internet was awful so I stopped watching videos L )

I’ve seen the Twitter controversies come and go. I usually try and stay out of it, because I’ve found that no matter what I say…it’s apparently wrong. So mums the word now! Yes, there are the wonderfully mature human beings who can debate an issue and NOT judge you or make you feel bad for having the opinion you have. To each their own, right? I have seen PLENTY of that on Booktube in the past. The fairly recent conversations seem far too heated for that. It’s a lot of hurt feelings and when feelings are involved…things get heated. Let me back track!

Recently, it feels like no one can have an opinion without someone being offended. Maybe you didn’t like a book or author? Maybe you DID like that book or author? Maybe you found problematic issues in a book? Maybe you read that same book and saw nothing wrong? No matter where you fell, someone is upset with you. I don’t like people being upset with me. So I didn’t weigh-in on those conversations and I certainly did not read any problematic/controversial books!

In fact, I avoided all “hyped” books. I decided I’m not even going to try anymore. I don’t want to argue with anyone and there are plenty of older books that I want to read/enjoy. So, I distanced myself from the hype. Problem is, when you stop caring about the books that are being “cared” about, you stop being apart of the conversations. Sad Face. It was kind of lose lose. If I read the problematic books (to be apart of the conversation) then people would be mad that I read a book with such problematic elements. If I didn’t, I steered clear of the anger/offensive material…but I couldn’t chat with those people (because that’s all they talked about).

I am not sure of the current state of Bookish Twitter. I only pop on and off. I have a feeling that those issues are still going strong. Why wouldn’t they? If you see a book that offends you, you are going to talk about it. If you read a book that you love and see people hate on it, you’re going to get defensive. No one really wins. On one side, you have the offended people who read something that rocked them to the core and therefore get so upset they may not be explaining their points as calmly/rationally as they maybe could have. They are so offended by this body of work, that they don’t want to hear any praise for it. They don’t want to hear your side. On the other hand, people are so busy being defensive of this body of work that they miss the opposing sides point all together. They miss the bigger picture and that can have lasting damage. In the end, we need to listen to each other and grow more accepting of others no matter what side we are sitting on. Also, we want publishers to see our points calmly, to take the bookish community seriously and to make changes in the quality of what they produce. That’s my opinion anyway. Whether you agree or disagree, I respect that. Please respect me if you choose comment.

So, now I’m here with my internet actually functioning and my words rambling across my screen. Will anyone read it? I dunno. Will someone be mad at me about my thoughts? Quite possibly, but I wrote a blog post though!!!!

Has anyone been in a similar funk? Have you ever picked up books only to put them back down? Do you feel a little lost?

My goals for the rest of the year are as follows:

– Blog/Instagram More

– Find My Way Back Onto Twitter And Solidify Stronger Friendships

– Read What My Heart Wants, Not What I Feel Obligated To Read

– Continue To Grow TBR Hot Spot (My Goodreads Group) and Do Right By My Amazing Members. I really want to provide a good group for them and not let them down. I’ve felt like I have due to my slump and I’m working hard to change that.

I’ve dodged the BookTube and Bookish Twitter wars. That causes me to dodge some people I once followed. They want to be “big” and get attention. Pushing their way as the right way to think. I’m all about thinking for yourself. Yes, Learn new facts and options then make up your own mind. I too want to “Read What My Heart Wants, Not What I Feel Obligated To Read.” Relatable.